Kodachrome anyone??

[brain]

Yes I was a Kodachrome freak. I even got to use it in the 120 size for awhile. The majority of my images with Getty were shot on Kodachrome.

But alas digital is really where photography is today. It doesn't really matter what camera you shoot with or film or digital, good photography is good photography.

I still shoot 4x5 film for fun.

Hi MurreyWalker! I shot with your son awhile back.

Brian McWeeney

[daveswenson]

I used to shoot Kodachrome exclusively in my Mamiya 1000 DTL. Great film. Great camera. As convenient as digital is, I don't think it can beat film when you're shooting for artistic satisfaction.

[eubank]

Used to use Kodachrome with the K1000. Those were great times. Alas, on my very last trip with that outfit, I had calculated that it was costing me approximately 50 cents every time I hit the shutter button and wound up shooting only three or four shots for the whole trip. Time to go digital.


Lynn

[blumob]

I have the old Dometic refrigerator I took out of my 75 Airstream filled with film and photo paper in my garage.I was going to put a darkroom in my trailer but thought again. I do have one in my garage. The same reason I use film is the same reason I had a 75 airstream restored, it presents something which can't be duplicated.

[SteveSueMac]

My dad worked at Polaroid so we were purely an SX-70 household (though he had a Hassleblad in his closet with some Kodak film he snuck around with from time to time :-) ).

Years after "instant" cameras became unpopular, I learned that an Irish company was building a factory to manufacture Polaroid film packs for the SX-70 so while you may think Kodachrome is going the way of the dinosaur, you might be surprised at the small, tenacious crowd who hangs on....and it's impossible to read this thread without thinking....

Give us those nice bright colors
Give us the greens of summers
Makes you think all the world's a sunny day
Oh yeah!

I got a Nikon camera
Love to take your photograph
So mama don't take my Kodachrome away!

[andreasduess]

Not an Irish company - the last remaining Dutch Polaroid factory has been purchased by a handful of enthusiasts. They've been developing their own instant film and have been making great progress towards a modern, instant, analogue camera.

Right now, they sell their film at The Impossible Project

I purchase all the film for my SX-70 from these guys and have yet to be disappointed.

[Aage]

Originally Posted by andreasduess

I purchase all the film for my SX-70 from these guys and have yet to be disappointed.

Interesting company. An 8" X 10" Poloroid!? Wow!

Curious why you use instant film..?

[DKB_SATX]

Originally Posted by andreasduess

Not an Irish company - the last remaining Dutch Polaroid factory has been purchased by a handful of enthusiasts. They've been developing their own instant film and have been making great progress towards a modern, instant, analogue camera.

Right now, they sell their film at The Impossible Project

I purchase all the film for my SX-70 from these guys and have yet to be disappointed.

What a strange small world this is.

On the desk before me is a treasured possession of my best friend since junior high, who died last year... a folding SX-70 auto-focus with the leather accents on the outer case. As executor I let most things go to his family except a few things that either were very important to Kelly, or really felt to me to be connected to him, or (in the instance of the SX-70) both.

Somewhere back in my mind I'd heard of The Impossible Project, but had forgotten about it. I don't think I ever knew they actually got it up and running and had film packs available for purchase again, so I thought the camera was always going to be a sentimental paperweight.

A few of our close friends are gathering at his birthday in October. Now I'll get to take some pictures of us with it, and perhaps play with some transfers like Kelly loved to do. I know the SX-70 worked fine the last time Kelly had a film pack, but I don't remember how long ago that was. A color and a monochrome film pack are on their way.

[SteveSueMac]

Originally Posted by andreasduess

Not an Irish company -

I stand corrected! Thank you. And I didn't mean to hijack the thread with a Polaroid conversation - just meant to share an example of how people who are passionate about an old school approach will find a way to keep it going. God forbid Airstream went out of business tomorrow, I'd bet there are enough passionate streamers that a similar "impossible project" factory would turn up somewhere....

Back to Kodachrome...

[andreasduess]

Originally Posted by Aage

Interesting company. An 8" X 10" Poloroid!? Wow!

Curious why you use instant film..?

Just for the fun of it, and the element of surprise that's introduced when using a medium that isn't 100% perfect. The result is impossible to predict and in our world where so many things are close to being perfect, I find that to be refreshing.

Also, there's something magical, even in this day and age (at least to me) about an image developing right in front of your eyes.

And last but not least, when a bunch of crazy enthusiasts (sounds familiar, anybody?) step in and do something that really should not have been possible, then they've got my support - just because.

[andreasduess]

Originally Posted by SteveSueMac

I stand corrected!

It wasn't my intention to correct you.
And I agree with you about the power of the passionate few.

[andreasduess]

Originally Posted by DKB_SATX

A color and a monochrome film pack are on their way.

So glad. I am sure your friend will be smiling.

And now, really back to Kodachrome. Sorry.

[Burfield]

I still shoot some film but only B&W, mostly 4x5 sheet film. Kodachrome is long gone and that was the only archival color positive film worth working with. Ektachrome (E6 process) was ok for advertising, multi-media and PJ work since it could go thru the soup in less than an hour, but it will fade in about 20 years, depending on storage. Black and White is about the only process that will last several hundred years and requires no high-tech equipment to either process or print. Digital is great and saved me a ton of money on Polaroid proofing, to check lighting for example. The downside is preservation of digital images over generations of technology. The Library of Congress now has a group working this issue. Preservation also affects the motion picture industry which is digital too. We may have gap in our visual history starting with the digital age.

[Sky]

Fun thread . I'm in the process of scanning all my slides and B&W negatives. Its time consuming, but I just do a little at a time. Of the 2000 or so slides I have kept over the years, 99% are Kodachrome. I loved that film! I really think my digital copies are better images now, especially since I can edit them with photo-shop to remove dust and control color and contrast etc..

Concerning longevity, I think my images are safer now than before. I setup software to automatically copy the scanned images to another hard drive that is connected to my router, and to off site drives such as SkyDrive and Google Docs. The off-site drives are free up to 5 gig. When I sync my ipad, they are also copied to it, so I have 4 copies of everything on 4 different devices, one being away from my home. If someone would actually want to look at my crap in 1000 years, I have to believe they would have no problem converting jpeg and tiff files to whatever the current image format is. Also, the digital images will have a much better chance of being passed down over generations than a closet full of carousels. Anyone want a bunch of carousels and projector for free?

[blumob]

I have enjoyed photography all of my life, both as a profession and hobby. Why shoot film over digital? Why renovate a 1975 Sovereign? One is not better than the other just different.I have my old Dometic refrigerator in my garage filled with black&white film and photo paper.I have a darkroom in the garage.Don't use them as much as I would like.The thing that troubles me is the trend to cell phone cameras. Will there be images to share with relatives in years to come?Those kodachrome slides look as good as the day they were created.

[gmw photos]

I shot many rolls of Kodachrome and Ektachrome thru my old Minolta STR-101 and XE-7. Lots of black and white too.
But like most, I made the switch to digital in the early decade of this millenia. No going back for me.
I was a bit curious a couple years ago though about the idea of playing with some black and white film images in photoshop, so I got a roll and loaded it into the XE-7. Walked around the barn shooting some "detail" shots of various things. I had it commercially developed ( all the old darkroom stuff having been given away years ago ) and a CD of the files burned. I was really kind of curious what kind of texture and grain I would get from the film. I will admit it does still have something of a unique feel to it.
I learned two important things that day: I am not worth a hoot at manually focusing anymore ! .... and two, at $17 for the cost of the film, process and a CD, it's pretty darned expensive. It was fun though, and as one who handles this latch constantly, it makes me smile to see the photo, and look at the detail. I have a print of it....I can imagine myself looking at this photo when I am old and sitting in the nursing home, and saying, "I remember opening that latch and sliding that stall door many times..."
For me, that it part of what photography is about. Triggering memories, in this case, very pleasant ones.

[Royce]

If I want a snapshot then digital is the solution. For artwork I get out either the Linhof 4x5 or the Zone VI 4x5 and some B&W. There is no substitute in my mind. A resent search of available paper however leads me to believe I may soon have to learn how to coat my own paper in order to get a print.

[Sky]

Couldn't agree with you guys more. Nice shot gmw. Beautiful boat Royce.